Getting There by Cab, and Plastic ; as Part of a Fare-Hike Plan, New York Taxi Drivers Prepare to Accept Credit Cards

Article excerpt

The minivan-taxi carrying Ellen Lewis Gideon approaches Grand
Central Terminal, steering around double-parked delivery trucks and
coming to a stop near a fire hydrant. In a hurry to catch her train,
Ms. Gideon fumbles for the cash to pay the driver.

Groping for money while crammed in the back seat - almost every
New Yorker knows the feeling. But by late next year, Gideon, a
publicist who relies on cabs a lot, and other taxi customers will
have an alternative: credit cards.

Yes, New York's famed taxis - the yellow icons of the street that
inspired the TV show "Taxi" and movie "Taxi Driver" - are being
dragged into the 21st century. The Taxi and Limousine Commission
recently announced its goal to have all 12,000 cabs equipped with
credit-card readers by November of next year. When it happens, New
York's limousines for the common man will join those in Chicago,
Washington, San Francisco, and Dallas, where cabs already take
plastic.

Advocates offer two reasons for accepting cards: convenience and
safety. Passengers want the option, and drivers, with less cash on
hand, are less subject to robbery. Opponents question how secure the
transaction will be, and many drivers are worried about forking over
more earnings to credit-card companies.

The policy is part of the city's announcement of a 26 percent
fare hike - the first in eight years, which took effect last week.
This means each mile now costs $2 instead of $1.50.

Customers rarely ask to pay with a credit card, says Roland
Jacques, a Brooklyn-based cabdriver who expresses concern about the
added expense he is likely to incur. The equipment will cost
hundreds of dollars, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission wants the
industry to pay for it.

Additionally, cabbies will be expected to pay a transaction fee
and some portion of the back-end processing fee charged by the
credit-card companies. They might also pay a small part of the
monthly cellular airtime fee assessed for credit-card transactions. …